Love me, regardless

Chapter 3

Cyrill's POV

"Thank you! Have a nice day!"

I was back at the café, with Aries sitting at the table in the far corner, completely absorbed in playing with his toys.

"Thea, could you take over for a while? I'm just going to put Aries down for his nap." Thea nodded and took my place behind the counter.

I had intentionally designed the café to have two floors so I could have both an office and a small bedroom upstairs. That way, if I ever couldn't make it home, Aries and I would still have somewhere comfortable to stay.

"Come on, baby. It's nap time." Aries immediately put away his toys and coloring supplies before walking over to me.

"Can I have ice cream later?" I couldn't help but smile. He wasn't particularly fond of sweets, and he rarely asked for treats like that.

"Of course, baby. We'll get some ice cream after your nap." His face lit up with excitement as he grabbed my hand and pulled me upstairs.

I was just about to lie down beside Aries when my phone suddenly rang. Seeing Kaizer's name on the screen, I answered immediately.

"Kai? What's wrong?" For several seconds, all I heard was the sound of the wind. I checked my phone, wondering if the call had been disconnected.

"Kai? Hello?" Still, there was no response. I was about to hang up when another voice came through the line.

"Either you tell me where she is, or I'll hunt her down myself." My entire body turned cold the moment I recognized the voice.

"You'll never find her, Heath." Yuri's voice was filled with anger.

"You sure about that?" The mockery in his tone makes my knees weak. It's like he's already standing in front of me.

"f**k you, Heath! Leave her alone!" My hands trembled as I lowered the phone.

"Mom?"

Fuck. I don't know what to do. I can't let him find me. What should I do?

"Mom..."

What do I do? It's only a matter of ti—

"Mom!" Aries' shout snapped me back to reality. Only then did I realize he'd been calling me over and over.

"Why are you crying?" he asked worriedly as he hurried over to me. "You're shaking too, Mom." The fear in his eyes broke my heart. I forced myself to calm down.

Right now, I was the only person he could rely on. I knew Yuri and Kaizer wouldn't be able to reach us—they were undoubtedly being watched.

"Listen to me very carefully, okay?" Although scared, he nodded and listened.

"We're going on a little vacation today, okay? See that closet over there? I want you to get some clothes for both of us and put them in a bag. Can you do that for me?"

"Y-Yes... Will Tito Dadi and Tito Dada be there too?"

"They can't come right now, baby. They're busy with something, so it'll just be the two of us for a while."

"Okay." The sadness in his eyes was impossible to miss. Instead of heading downstairs, I helped him pack our clothes. Thank goodness I'd hidden some emergency cash here.

"Let's go, baby." I locked the office before carrying him downstairs.

"Thea, something urgent came up. I won't be around for a while, but Yuri and Kaizer will stop by from time to time. Please take care of the café until then." She looked like she wanted to ask questions, but after seeing the panic written all over my face, she simply nodded.

We left through the back entrance. Good thing I'd listened to Yuri when he suggested building a parking space behind the café. It turned out to be useful in situations like this. I could barely remember how we made it back home.

I hurriedly packed everything we needed. I knew Yuri and Kaizer would take care of both our house and the café while we were gone. The clothes we have at the café wouldn't suffice if we're going to hide for a long time again. I took all the stash of cash and important documents from the vault and just tossed it inside a bag.

They knew where to find us when the time came. This wasn't the first time we had nearly been discovered. We'd prepared this emergency plan long ago in case Heath ever tracked us down.

Then my phone buzzed. A single text from Yuri.

Move.

I moved even faster, if that's physically possible. It didn't take long before everything was packed. The safe house was already prepared and stocked with food and other necessities.

"Let's go, baby." Before leaving the house, I threw my phone into the trash. I knew by this time, Heath already knew where we lived.

We had to disappear.

We managed to leave the subdivision without anyone stopping us.

I trusted Yuri and Kaizer with my life—they would never betray us. But my instincts were telling me something was terribly wrong.

____

"Baby... we're here." I gently woke Aries up.

I didn't know what came over me, but instead of going to the safe house we'd originally planned to use, I drove to another one—one that not even Yuri or Kaizer knew about.

A backup plan... for our backup plan.

It wasn't that I didn't trust my friends. I just couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

"Where are we, Mom?" Aries asked sleepily. I didn't answer. Instead, I helped him out of the car.

The house already had everything we needed. The only problem was Aries himself. He was just a child and sooner or later he would ask questions. Kids are born curious.

Questions that I know I couldn't answer.

He was far too young to understand just how dangerous our situation really was. I had no idea how long we'd have to hide here.

The only thing I knew for certain was that Heath wouldn't stop searching until he found me.

He doesn't know about Aries.

And I'm absolutely certain that once he finds out I've been hiding his son...

He'll take Aries away from me. And he'll kill me.

"Mom... I'm sleepy." I scooped him into my arms and carried him to the only bedroom in the house. The place wasn't very big, but it was more than enough for the two of us.

While Aries slept, I unpacked our belongings, cleaned the house, and prepared a meal for when he woke up.

After finishing everything that needed to be done, I lay down beside him and allowed myself to rest for a while.